Firefighters risk lives, but not appreciated

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

All firefighters understand the inherent risks of their job, but still they are always startled to hear news of a colleague's death in the line of duty.

"I was shocked when I was informed that Subandi died during the Melawai market fire because I had just been with him there. I left for the station house first as the fire had already been put out," said 46-year old firefighter M. Sontang Siregar.

Firefighter Subandi, 45, died in the fire, which burned a four-story market building owned by city market operator PD Pasar Jaya in Melawai, Blok M commercial district in South Jakarta last Monday.

Subandi and Siregar had been friends for nearly 25 years since they started their careers together as firemen in 1980.

Subandi's last position was head of the fire station in Tebet, South Jakarta, while Siregar is chief of a firefighter platoon in South Jakarta. Siregar said they often ended up working together.

Siregar recalled that before his death, Subandi, together with his four subordinates, made a final check of the building, which was a common practice done by supervisors after they had managed to tame the blaze.

Unfortunately, Subandi, whose body was found on the second floor of the building, was killed as the flames escalated again when he was still inside the building. Four of his subordinates managed to escape.

"I tell you what happened to Subandi may also happen to any other fireman including me. It is impossible to anticipate such an incident," Siregar told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

For firefighters, threats against their lives do not only come from fires, but also from residents who are not satisfied with the way they are extinguishing a blaze.

"Victims often assault us if they think we are not doing our jobs well," said Siregar, while adding that they often damage firetrucks or other equipment in their anger and frustration.

"News about firefighters being assaulted by residents who are not satisfied with us are already common. We usually receive such treatment when called to slum blazes," he added.

Siregar said that he never forgets two incidents that nearly killed him. The first occurred after an explosion in an arsenal in Cilandak, South Jakarta in 1984.

"At that time I was still young. The situation was very dangerous as stray bullets were igniting and flying in every direction," he said, adding that he was stationed in the area for three days.

Another unforgettable incident was in 1996 when he was working on blaze in Manggarai, South Jakarta. It had been sparked by a brawl between two rival residents in the area. The people there prohibited firemen from getting to the fires that were burning property owned by their opponents.

"Using machetes, these people just ran after us when we tried to extinguish it. They told us not to put the fire out. We were forced to stop as they had machetes to our necks," he added.

Head of City Fire Department Johnny Pangaribuan said there were two main problems faced by his people in the city.

First, the difficulties of entering slum areas where fires break out frequently and their trucks cannot get down the narrow alleyways in the slums.

Lack of hydrants is also a problem in the capital, particularly if the fire is far from rivers because most hydrants in the city are simply not adequate.

Unlike other employees, firefighters are on call 24-hours-a- day and take two days off after each shift.

Siregar said that there were groups of firefighters in shifts -- A, B and C-- in South Jakarta, each consisting of 160 people.

"Those 160 must be available for 24 hours. They must be ready to be deployed at any time throughout South Jakarta. Some of us may help fight fires in other municipalities," said Siregar.

Firefighters are relatively better off financially compared to other civil servants in the capital. Since last year, they have also received a Rp 950,000 (US$94.14) special allowance from the Jakarta administration.

Siregar said that after working for 23 years in the fire department, he currently received Rp 3.22 million in take-home pay per month.

Unfortunately, not all of his colleagues in the city are insured due to lack of funding.

Pangaribuan said that the city administration had not been able to give life insurance to firemen because of financial constraints.

Realizing the risk of their job, Siregar and several coworkers have taken out education insurance for their children.

"I have to pay Rp 600,000 every three months in premiums for my two children's education insurance. If something happens to me, my children will still be able to continue school as the insurance company will pay about Rp 30 million to each of my children," he added.

Siregar, who graduated from a vocational school in Medan, North Sumatra, said becoming a firefighter was not his real ambition. His real target after finishing his studies was to work as an administrative clerk.

"Since I ended up becoming a firefighter, I suppose it was my destiny. I am happy with my current job because not all people can do this job. The most important thing is that I can support my family and pay the school fees for my children," he said.